BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks fell on Friday as Brexit talks dragged on and drug maker AstraZeneca said it plans to conduct a new global clinical trial using a lower dose to assess efficacy of its Covid-19 vaccine after questions were raised about the trial results.
U.K. and European Union officials will resume face-to-face trade talks this weekend with Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, warning that the 'same significant divergences persist'.
The benchmark FTSE 100 dropped 30 points, or half a percent, to 6,333 after declining 0.4 percent on Thursday.
AstraZeneca shares were marginally lower.
Building materials company Michelmersh Brick Holdings soared 7.7 percent. The company said its trading performance has been resilient since June 2020 and this has continued through November.
The company has decided to repay the monies received under the Job Retention Scheme totaling 0.5 million pounds.
Pub company J D Wetherspoon lost nearly 2 percent. The company said 366 of its pubs will remain shut following the U.K. government's latest update on virus restrictions.
Business process outsourcing company Capita edged up slightly after announcing it is in exclusive talks with private equity house Montagu over a possible sale of its education platform division.
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